2004 Stanley Cup Playoffs

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The 2004 Stanley Cup Playoffs for the National Hockey League began on April 7, 2004, following the 2003-04 regular season. The playoffs ended with the Tampa Bay Lightning securing the Stanley Cup with a seven-game series win over the Calgary Flames on June 7. It was Tampa Bay's first Stanley Cup victory. It was the Flames' third final appearance, as they came this far in 1986 and 1989, winning the latter. The sixteen qualified teams, eight from each conference, played best-of-seven games for conference quarterfinals, semifinals and finals. The winner of each conference proceeded to the Stanley Cup Finals. The format was identical to the one introduced for the 1999 playoffs.

These playoffs marked the first time the Nashville Predators qualified, being in their seventh season in the NHL. The future champions from Tampa Bay saw playoff action for the third time, while the Colorado Avalanche made their ninth straight post-season appearance.

Contents

[edit] Playoff bracket

  Conference Quarterfinals Conference Semifinals Conference Finals Stanley Cup Finals
                                     
1  Tampa Bay 4  
8  N.Y. Islanders 1  
  1  Tampa Bay 4  
  7  Montreal 0  
2  Boston 3
7  Montreal 4  
  1  Tampa Bay 4  
Eastern Conference
  3  Philadelphia 3  
3  Philadelphia 4  
6  New Jersey 1  
  3  Philadelphia 4
  4  Toronto 2  
4  Toronto 4
5  Ottawa 3  
  E1  Tampa Bay 4
  W6  Calgary 3
3  Vancouver 3  
6  Calgary 4  
  1  Detroit 2
  6  Calgary 4  
1  Detroit 4
8  Nashville 2  
  6  Calgary 4
Western Conference
  2  San Jose 2  
2  San Jose 4  
7  St. Louis 1  
  2  San Jose 4
  4  Colorado 2  
4  Colorado 4
5  Dallas 1  

[edit] Playoff qualifiers

[edit] Eastern Conference

  1. Tampa Bay Lightning - Southeast Division and Eastern Conference regular season champions, 106 points
  2. Boston Bruins - Northeast Division champions, 104 points
  3. Philadelphia Flyers - Atlantic Division champions, 101 points
  4. Toronto Maple Leafs - 103 points
  5. Ottawa Senators - 102 points
  6. New Jersey Devils - 100 points
  7. Montreal Canadiens - 93 points
  8. New York Islanders - 91 points

[edit] Western Conference

  1. Detroit Red Wings - Central Division and Western Conference regular season champions; Presidents' Trophy winners, 109 points
  2. San Jose Sharks - Pacific Division champions, 104 points
  3. Vancouver Canucks - Northwest Division champions, 101 points
  4. Colorado Avalanche - 100 points
  5. Dallas Stars - 97 points
  6. Calgary Flames - 94 points
  7. St. Louis Blues - 91 points (39 wins)
  8. Nashville Predators - 91 points (38 wins)

[edit] Conference Quarterfinals

[edit] Eastern Conference Quarterfinals

[edit] (1) Tampa Bay Lightning defeat (8) New York Islanders, 4 games to 1

Games 1 and 2, at St. Pete Times Forum in St. Petersburg, saw goalies Nikolai Khabibulin of the Lightning and Rick DiPietro of the Islanders trade 3-0 shutouts, with Tampa Bay winning Game 1 and New York winning Game 2.

The series turned to Nassau Coliseum in New York for Games 3 and 4, and Khabibulin all but put up a wall in front of the net: the Lightning won both games 3-0, Khabibulin's GAA for the series was a tidy 0.75 through the first four games, and Khabibulin stopped all 61 shots he saw in New York. Back in Florida for Game 5, Khabibulin allowed his first goals in three games, but Martin St. Louis scored the game-winner four minutes into overtime.

Game-by-Game Score TB goals NYI goals
1 April 8 at Lightning 3, Islanders 0 Modin 2, Roy none (Khabibulin shutout)
2 April 10 Islanders 3, at Lightning 0 none (DiPietro shutout) Blake 2, Niinimaa
3 April 12 Lightning 3, at Islanders 0 St. Louis 2, Richards none (Khabibulin shutout)
4 April 14 Lightning 3, at Islanders 0 Fedotenko, Modin, St. Louis none (Khabibulin shutout)
5 April 16 4:07, OT at Lightning 3, Islanders 2 Fedotenko, St. Louis, Taylor Kvasha, Parrish
Lightning win series 4-1

[edit] (7) Montreal Canadiens defeat (2) Boston Bruins, 4 games to 3

Games 1 and 2 at TD Banknorth Garden in Boston saw the Bruins win two low-scoring games, winning Game 1, 3-0, behind a 31-save shutout from goalie Andrew Raycroft. Raycroft was almost as good in Game 2, allowing one goal, but Boston won the game anyway, 2-1.

Down 2-0 in the series, but home at the Bell Centre, Montreal won Game 3, 3-2. But, the Canadiens were pushed to the brink with a painful double-overtime 4-3 loss in Game 4. Montreal was in trouble. If they were to advance, they had to win the next three games before losing one, and two of the three games were in Boston.

The Canadiens bounced back from the double-overtime loss with a 5-1 Game 5 victory, scoring three third-period goals to break open a close game. Energized by home-ice advantage and their temporary staving off of elimination, Montreal forced a Game 7 with a 5-2 Game 6 victory. Montreal completed the stunning comeback with a 2-0 victory in Game 7 in Boston, as goalie Jose Theodore went a perfect 32-for-32 in save attempts.

Game-by-Game Score BOS goals MTL goals
1 April 7 at Bruins 3, Canadiens 0 Gonchar, Knuble, Nylander none (Raycroft shutout)
2 April 9 at Bruins 2, Canadiens 1 Bergeron, Nylander Brisebois
3 April 11 at Canadiens 3, Bruins 2 Hilbert, Rolston Kovalev 2, Markov
4 April 13 9:27, 2OT Bruins 4, at Canadiens 3 Knuble, Murray, Nylander, Slegr Ribeiro 2, Kovalev
5 April 15 Canadiens 5, at Bruins 1 Murray Koivu, Kovalev, Perreault,
Rivet, Zednik
6 April 17 at Canadiens 5, Bruins 2 Samsonov 2 Bulis, Koivu, Kovalev,
Langdon, Perreault
7 April 19 Canadiens 2, at Bruins 0 none (Theodore shutout) Zednik 2
Canadiens win series 4-3

[edit] (3) Philadelphia Flyers defeat (6) New Jersey Devils, 4 games to 1

Game 1 of the series at Wachovia Center in Philadelphia saw the Flyers win, 3-2. Game 2 saw another well-played, close game, with Philadelphia again winning, 3-2. Game 3 at Continental Airlines Arena in New Jersey saw the first game of the series not decided by one goal, a 4-2 Devils victory. With a chance to tie the series heading back to Philadelphia, the New Jersey attack was completely stonewalled by Flyers goalie Robert Esche in a 3-0 shutout victory for the Flyers. Esche had 35 saves. Back in Philadelphia for Game 5, the Flyers finished off the Devils with a 3-1 victory.

Game-by-Game Score PHI goals NJD goals
1 April 8 at Flyers 3, Devils 2 Gagne, Primeau, Roenick Elias, Hrdina
2 April 10 at Flyers 3, Devils 2 Recchi, Timander, Zhamnov Gionta, Hrdina
3 April 12 at Devils 4, Flyers 2 Amonte, Roenick Elias 2, Gionta, Martin
4 April 14 Flyers 3, at Devils 0 Johnsson, Primeau, Zhamnov none (Esche shutout)
5 April 17 at Flyers 3, Devils 1 Kapanen, Markov, Zhamnov Niedermayer
Flyers win series 4-1

[edit] (4) Toronto Maple Leafs defeat (5) Ottawa Senators, 4 games to 3

The 4-5 matchup in the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals was billed as the Battle of Ontario. Game 1, at Toronto's Air Canada Centre, saw Ottawa pull out a 4-2 victory. Needing a victory to avoid going down two games to Ottawa, the Maple Leafs came through with 2-0 win on the strength of a 31-save shutout by Ed Belfour.

Game 3 of the series shifted venue to Ottawa's Scotiabank Place, but the teams shouldn't have bothered playing the game if they wanted a different result: Toronto again won, 2-0, behind another Belfour shutout, and this time Belfour stopped 37 shots. Ottawa finally broke through the apparent wall Belfour had put up in net, winning Game 4, 4-1.

With the series back in Toronto for a crucial Game 5, Belfour posted his third shutout of the series in yet another 2-0 Toronto victory. A clear indication of the strength of the Toronto defense was that Belfour saw only 21 shots. With a chance to knock out the Senators on the road in Game 6, Ottawa held firm with their backs against the wall and posted a tense, 2-1, double-overtime victory. The series went back to Toronto for the third time, this time for a Game 7. Toronto relied on what brought them the first three victories of the series: goalie Belfour, who all but denied Ottawa's offense in a 4-1, series-clinching win.

Game-by-Game Score TOR goals OTT goals
1 April 8 Senators 4, at Maple Leafs 2 McCabe, Nieuwendyk Hossa 2, Redden, Smolinski
2 April 10 at Maple Leafs 2, Senators 0 Roberts 2 none (Belfour shutout)
3 April 12 Maple Leafs 2, at Senators 0 Nieuwendyk, Sundin none (Belfour shutout)
4 April 14 at Senators 4, Maple Leafs 1 Roberts Alfredsson, Hossa,
Phillips, White
5 April 16 at Maple Leafs 2, Senators 0 Domi, Nieuwendyk none (Belfour shutout)
6 April 18 1:47, 2OT at Senators 2, Maple Leafs 1 McCabe Chara, Fisher
7 April 20 at Maple Leafs 4, Senators 1 Nieuwendyk 2, Kilger, McCabe Varada
Maple Leafs win series 4-3

[edit] Western Conference Quarterfinals

[edit] (1) Detroit Red Wings defeat (8) Nashville Predators, 4 games to 2

At Detroit's Joe Louis Arena for Game 1, the Red Wings shook off a slow start and posted a 3-1 victory. Game 2 saw a closer game, but Detroit still won the game, 2-1.

However, at Nashville's Gaylord Entertainment Center for Games 3 and 4, Nashville made it a series by taking both games, tying the series 2-2 headed back to Detroit. After a 3-1 Game 3 victory, Nashville one-upped themselves with a 3-0 Game 4 victory as goalie Tomas Vokoun posted a 37-save shutout. Game 4 also saw Detroit goalie Manny Legace being yanked in favor of Curtis Joseph.

Back in Detroit for Game 5, Joseph got the start in goal for the Red Wings, and the decision paid off: the Red Wings won the game, 4-1. When the series returned to Nashville for Game 6, Joseph did himself one better: shutting out the Predators to end their season in a 2-0 victory. Detroit's defense was so strong that Joseph only saw 15 shots on the night.

Game-by-Game Score DET goals NSH goals
1 April 7 at Red Wings 3, Predators 1 Draper, Holmstrom, Lang Hall
2 April 10 at Red Wings 2, Predators 1 Lang, Schneider Orszagh
3 April 11 at Predators 3, Red Wings 1 Hull Hall, Hartnell, Legwand
4 April 13 at Predators 3, Red Wings 0 none (Vokoun shutout) Johnson, Orszagh, Sullivan
5 April 15 at Red Wings 4, Predators 1 Hull, Lidstrom,
Shanahan, Zetterberg		 Zholtok
6 April 17 Red Wings 2, at Predators 0 Whitney, Yzerman none (Joseph shutout)
Red Wings win series 4-2

[edit] (2) San Jose Sharks defeat (7) St. Louis Blues, 4 games to 1

Game 1 of the series at San Jose's HP Pavilion saw a defensive battle, with San Jose winning the game, 1-0, on the strength of a 26-save shutout from Evgeni Nabokov. Chris Osgood was equally strong in net for the Blues, but allowed a goal to Niko Dimitrakos in the third period. Nabokov gave up a goal in Game 2, but only one goal in a 3-1 Sharks victory highlighted by Patrick Marleau's hat trick.

In St. Louis at the Savvis Center for Game 3, the Blues used home-ice advantage to post a 4-1 victory and half their series deficit, getting a hat trick from Mike Sillinger. The next night, in Game 4, saw a back-and-forth game that ultimately went to San Jose, 4-3. With a chance to knock out the Blues at home in Game 5, they did just that, winning the game 3-1.

On a more serious note, shortly after the series, St. Louis left wing Mike Danton, who scored one goal in the series, was arrested, charged, and convicted in a conspiracy to murder his agent, David Frost.

Game-by-Game Score SJ goals STL goals
1 April 8 at Sharks 1, Blues 0 Dimitrakos none (Nabokov shutout)
2 April 10 at Sharks 3, Blues 1 Marleau 3 Weight
3 April 12 at Blues 4, Sharks 1 Cheechoo Sillinger 3, Drake
4 April 13 Sharks 4, at Blues 3 Korolyuk 2, Thornton 2 Danton, Demitra, Weight
5 April 15 at Sharks 3, Blues 1 Ricci, Smith, Stuart Savage
Sharks win series 4-1

[edit] (6) Calgary Flames defeat (3) Vancouver Canucks, 4 games to 3

The second all-Canada first round series (#4 Toronto defeated #5 Ottawa, 4-3 in the Eastern Conference) began at GM Place in Vancouver. The goals were easy to come by, but Vancouver scored more in a 5-3 Game 1 victory. Both defenses tightened considerably in Game 2, a 2-1 Calgary victory that tied the series headed to the Pengrowth Saddledome in Calgary.

Game 3 saw another 2-1 game, but this time Vancouver prevailed. However, during the game, Canucks goalie Dan Cloutier was injured making a save, and backup Johan Hedberg took over. Game 4 saw Calgary goalie Miikka Kiprusoff and the Flames defense pick a good time to play well, with Kiprusoff stopping all 20 shots he faced in a 4-0 victory that tied the series, 2-2. After Hedberg's subpar performance in Game 4, he was replaced in the net by Alexander Auld, the third goalie in as many games for the Canucks.

Game 5, back in Vancouver, saw Calgary push the Canucks to the brink with a 2-1 victory. With elimination staring Vancouver in the face, the Canucks and Flames engaged in an all-out battle in Game 6 that saw Vancouver storm out to a 4-0 lead only to see the Flames come back to tie it. The game didn't end until triple-overtime, when Brendan Morrison scored 2:28 into the period in a 5-4 Vancouver victory. That set up a thrilling Game 7 in Vancouver with the winner getting bragging rights for western Canada. It went down to the wire, but Calgary won the game in overtime, 3-2, with Martin Gelinas scoring the game-winner 85 seconds into overtime.

Game-by-Game Score VAN goals CGY goals
1 April 7 at Canucks 5, Flames 3 Morrison, Ohlund, Rucinsky,
Salo, H. Sedin		 Oliwa, Saprykin, Simon
2 April 9 Flames 2, at Canucks 1 Naslund Iginla, Lombardi
3 April 11 Canucks 2, at Flames 1 Cooke, Naslund Simon
4 April 13 at Flames 4, Canucks 0 none (Kiprusoff shutout) Clark, Donovan, Iginla, Yelle
5 April 15 Flames 2, at Canucks 1 H. Sedin Conroy, Iginla
6 April 17 2:28, 3OT Canucks 5, at Flames 4 May, Morrison, Ruutu,
Sanderson, D. Sedin		 Clark, Gelinas,
Nieminen, Saprykin
7 April 19 1:25, OT Flames 3, at Canucks 2 Cooke 2 Iginla 2, Gelinas
Flames win series 4-3

[edit] (4) Colorado Avalanche defeat (5) Dallas Stars, 4 games to 1

Game 1 at the Pepsi Center in Denver saw the Avalanche win, 3-1. Game 2 saw Colorado increase the offensive pressure on Dallas goalie Marty Turco in a 5-2 Avalanche win.

At home at the American Airlines Center and in danger of falling behind 3-0 in the series, Dallas bounced back with a crucial victory in overtime, 4-3, to climb back into the series. After the first 80 minutes of Game 4 failed to produce a winner, Dallas stood a chance at winning the game, tying the series, and guaranteeing at least one more game at home. But Marek Svatos won the game for the Avalanche 5:18 into the second overtime to break Dallas' back.

Back in Colorado for Game 5, Dallas kept it close until the third period, when Colorado broke the game wide open with three goals to extend a 2-1 lead to 5-1 to clinch the series.

Game-by-Game Score COL goals DAL goals
1 April 7 at Avalanche 3, Stars 1 Forsberg, Sakic, Tanguay Kapanen
2 April 9 at Avalanche 5, Stars 2 Forsberg, Hinote, Konowalchuk,
Sakic, Tanguay		 Modano, Therien
3 April 12 2:11, OT at Stars 4, Avalanche 3 Hahl, Hejduk, Konowalchuk Arnott, Boucher, Ott, Young
4 April 14 5:18, 2OT Avalanche 3, at Stars 2 Hejduk, Sakic, Svatos Turgeon, Zubov
5 April 17 at Avalanche 5, Stars 1 Forsberg, Hejduk, Hendrickson,
Konowalchuk, Sakic		 Therien
Avalanche win series 4-1

[edit] Conference Semifinals

[edit] Eastern Conference Semifinals

[edit] (1) Tampa Bay Lightning defeat (7) Montreal Canadiens, 4 games to 0

This series pitted the top-seeded Lightning, who had hastily eliminated the Islanders in the first round, against the Canadiens, who were riding an emotional high after their thrilling comeback seven-game series victory against the Boston Bruins.

Game 1, at Tampa's St. Pete Times Forum, saw a not-so-rare occurrence for the Lightning: a shutout by goalie Nikolai Khabibulin, his fourth of the postseason out of six games he played in. Khabibulin turned away all 21 shots he saw in the 4-0 victory, with the 21 shots being an indicator of the strong Lightning defense. Game 1 also saw Montreal goalie Jose Theodore, who had shut out Boston in Game 7 of the Quarterfinals, get pulled in favor of Mathieu Garon, who went 6-for-6 during his brief stint in goal. Game 2 saw Theodore return to goal for Montreal, but the Canadiens still lost the game by a score of 3-1.

Game 3 saw Khabibulin give up three goals for the first time in five games. In fact, in the five games since his last loss, he had allowed a combined total of three goals. But despite the letdown, Tampa found a way to win the game 65 seconds into overtime, 4-3. The demoralizing defeat stung Montreal, and they were swept without resisting in a 3-1 Game 4 loss.

Game-by-Game Score TB goals MTL goals
1 April 23 at Lightning 4, Canadiens 0 Lecavalier 2, Afanasenkov,
Fedotenko		 none (Khabibulin shutout)
2 April 25 at Lightning 3, Canadiens 1 Lecavalier 2, Modin Koivu
3 April 27 1:05, OT Lightning 4, at Canadiens 3 Richards 2, Lecavalier, Stillman Brisebois, Kovalev, Ryder
4 April 29 Lightning 3, at Canadiens 1 Boyle, Modin, Richards Sundstrom
Lightning win series 4-0

[edit] (3) Philadelphia Flyers defeat (4) Toronto Maple Leafs, 4 games to 2

This series pitted two Eastern Conference rivals that were evenly matched; Toronto had 103 points and Philadelphia 101, but Philadelphia had knocked off their first-round opponent quicker than Toronto; Philadelphia knocked out New Jersey in five games while it took Toronto all seven games to eliminate Ottawa.

Game 1, at Philadelphia's Wachovia Center, saw a closely-played game that ultimately went to the Flyers, 3-1. Game 2 was even closer, but Philadelphia's defense held firm in a 2-1 victory that put them up in the series, 2-0.

However, the shift in venue to Air Canada Centre certainly fired up the Maple Leafs, as they used three second-period goals to help out in a 4-1 Game 3 victory. Home-ice advantage continued to be a factor in Game 4, a 3-1 Toronto victory.

The series went back to Philadelphia for Game 5, and Philadelphia scored a postseason-high seven goals in a 7-2 victory, knocking out Toronto goalie Ed Belfour after the sixth goal in favor of Trevor Kidd in the process. Overlooked during the scoring barrage was a goalie to Philadelphia goalie Robert Esche, who was knocked out early and replaced by Sean Burke, who went 8-for-9 in goal; Toronto only took 11 shots during the whole game. Philadelphia's Keith Primeau logged a hat trick to add to the positive for the Flyers. Game 6, back in Toronto, saw Toronto rally from a 2-0 third-period deficit to force overtime, but Jeremy Roenick's second goal of the game ended the Maple Leafs' season.

Game-by-Game Score PHI goals TOR goals
1 April 22 at Flyers 3, Maple Leafs 1 Amonte, Gagne, Ragnarsson Mogilny
2 April 25 at Flyers 2, Maple Leafs 1 Brashear, Zhamnov Domi
3 April 28 at Maple Leafs 4, Flyers 1 Amonte Kilger, Mogilny,
Ponikarovsky, Tucker
4 April 30 at Maple Leafs 3, Flyers 1 Gagne Sundin 2, Tucker
5 May 2 at Flyers 7, Maple Leafs 2 Primeau 3, Handzus 2,
Radivojevic, Recchi		 Nieuwendyk, Roberts
6 May 4 7:39, OT Flyers 3, at Maple Leafs 2 Roenick 2, Somik Pilar, Sundin
Flyers win series 4-2

[edit] Western Conference Semifinals

[edit] (6) Calgary Flames defeat (1) Detroit Red Wings, 4 games to 2

This series pitted the top-seeded Red Wings, who were heavily favored, against the Flames, who had knocked out their intracountry rival, Vancouver, in an emotional seven-game series.

Game 1, at Joe Louis Arena in Detroit, saw the Flames stay with the Red Wings for every step of the way, and then in overtime, Marcus Nilson scored the game-winning goal 2:39 in. Stunned by the Game 1 loss, the Red Wings, hoping to avoid going down 2-0 in the series going to Calgary, bounced back with a 5-2 Game 2 victory.

At the Pengrowth Saddledome in Calgary for Game 3, Calgary used three second-period goals to register a 3-2 victory and take a 2-1 lead in the series. But Detroit again showed the ability to bounce back after a close loss, taking Game 4, 4-2.

The series shifted back to Detroit for Game 5, when Calgary goalie Miikka Kiprusoff picked an opportune time to shut out an opponent: his 31-save shutout in a 1-0 victory pushed Detroit to the brink, with Game 6 in Calgary. Detroit goalie Curtis Joseph also played well, but the difference in the game was a goal by Craig Conroy. At the Saddledome for Game 6, Kiprusoff again refused to budge, allowing nothing in regulation, but so did Joseph. It was now sudden-death for Detroit, and with 47 seconds left in the first overtime, Martin Gelinas beat Joseph set up by assists from Conroy and Jarome Iginla, and Calgary won their second straight 1-0 game, and their second straight overtime victory to clinch a series. Kiprusoff's 38-save shutout in Game 6 meant that he had stopped the final 69 shots he saw in the series.

Game-by-Game Score DET goals CGY goals
1 April 22 2:39, OT Flames 2, at Red Wings 1 Lang Nilson, Regehr
2 April 24 at Red Wings 5, Flames 2 Yzerman 2, Holmstrom,
Hull, Lidstrom		 Donovan, Gelinas
3 April 27 at Flames 3, Red Wings 2 Fischer, Lang Donovan, Iginla, Yelle
4 April 29 Red Wings 4, at Flames 2 Dandenault, Devereaux,
Maltby, Zetterberg		 Gelinas, Nieminen
5 May 1 Flames 1, at Red Wings 0 none (Kiprusoff shutout) Conroy
6 May 3 19:13, OT at Flames 1, Red Wings 0 none (Kiprusoff shutout) Gelinas
Flames win series 4-2

[edit] (2) San Jose Sharks defeat (4) Colorado Avalanche, 4 games to 2

This series pitted two opponents who defeated their first-round opponents, St. Louis and Dallas, respectively, in five games, with each team winning the first two, losing the third game, and then winning the next two.

Game 1 took place at the HP Pavilion in San Jose. The Sharks came flying out of the gate, scoring three first-period goals en route to a 5-2 victory highlighted by Patrick Marleau's hat trick, his second of the postseason. After giving up the fifth and final Sharks goal, Colorado goalie David Aebischer was pulled in favor of Tommy Salo, who went 7-for-7 in saves. Game 2 was more of the same: San Jose continued to shell Aebischer while goalie Evgeni Nabokov limited the Avalanche attack in a 4-1 victory.

The shift in venue to Colorado's Pepsi Center for Game 3, and San Jose's attack was limited to only one goal, scored by Vincent Damphousse, but Nabokov was brilliant between the pipes, stopping all 33 shots that he faced in the 1-0 victory to push Colorado to the brink. Down 3-0 in the series, Colorado extended their season for at least another game with a 1-0 overtime victory in Game 4 as Aebischer rebounded from his poor play in Games 1 and 2 with a 27-save shutout, and the game's lone goal was scored by Joe Sakic 5:15 into overtime.

When the series returned to San Jose for Game 5 and posted another overtime victory on another game-winning goal by Sakic, this time by a 2-1 count, people began to wonder: with Game 6 in Colorado, could Colorado rebound from a 3-0 hole to force a Game 7? Fortunately for Sharks fans, this did not happen, as San Jose won Game 6 in Colorado, 3-1, and eliminate the Avalanche. San Jose's strong second quarter, in which they scored three goals, was the difference.

Game-by-Game Score SJ goals COL goals
1 April 22 at Sharks 5, Avalanche 2 Marleau 3, Damphousse, Hannan Forsberg, Konowalchuk
2 April 24 at Sharks 4, Avalanche 1 Cheechoo, Damphousse,
Marleau, Primeau		 Hejduk
3 April 26 Sharks 1, at Avalanche 0 Damphousse none (Nabokov shutout)
4 April 28 5:15, OT at Avalanche 1, Sharks 0 none (Aebischer shutout) Sakic
5 May 1 1:54, OT Avalanche 2, at Sharks 1 Damphousse Sakic 2
6 May 4 Sharks 3, at Avalanche 1 Cheechoo, Damphousse, Goc Hejduk
Sharks win series 4-2

[edit] Conference Finals

[edit] Eastern Conference Finals

[edit] (1) Tampa Bay Lightning defeat (3) Philadelphia Flyers, 4 games to 3

The Eastern Conference Finals pitted the Lightning, 8-1 in the postseason up to that point, against the third-seeded Flyers, who had just defeated Toronto in a six-game series.

Game 1, at St. Pete Times Forum, saw Philadelphia take only 20 shots on goal, a sign of the strong Tampa Bay defense. Goalie Nikolai Khabibulin, all but impenetrable in the first two rounds, stopped 19 of those 20 shots, the only miss being a Michal Handzus goal in a 3-1 Lightning win. However, Game 2 saw a stunning turn of events: Khabibulin was shelled in goal, only seeing 12 shots and getting yanked after giving up four goals in a 6-2 Flyers victory. Backup goalie John Grahame went 15-for-17 in relief of Khabibulin, and the series was tied, 1-1, going to Philadelphia.

Game 3 at the Wachovia Center saw Khabibulin return to his dominant form in net, which was bad news for the Flyers, as Khabibulin stopped 24 out of 25 shots, the only miss being a Keith Primeau goal in a 4-1 Lightning win. Game 4 saw the Flyers pull even with a critical 3-2 victory that tied the series headed back to Tampa Bay.

Back in Tampa Bay for a critical Game 5, the Lightning used home-ice advantage in a 4-2 victory, and they were now one win away from the Stanley Cup Finals. Brad Richards' two goals marked the first time all series a player had scored more than one goal in a game. Philadelphia's backs were against the wall in this critical Game 6, but they had home-ice advantage. Both teams went all out, but Philadelphia won the game in overtime, 5-4, on a Simon Gagne goal 18:18 in, his second of the game and his first two goals of the series. The series was going back to Tampa Bay for a Game 7, and both defenses were strong, but Tampa Bay had a little bit more, winning the game, 2-1, and moving on to the Stanley Cup Finals.

Game-by-Game Score TB goals PHI goals
1 May 8 at Lightning 3, Flyers 1 Andreychuk, Dingman, Richards Handzus
2 May 10 Flyers 6, at Lightning 2 Fedotenko, St. Louis Handzus, Kapanen, LeClair,
Malakhov, Recchi, Timmander
3 May 13 Lightning 4, at Flyers 1 Fedotenko, Lecavalier,
Richards, Stillman		 Primeau
4 May 15 at Flyers 3, Lightning 2 Lecavalier, Modin LeClair, Primeau, Recchi
5 May 18 at Lightning 4, Flyers 2 Richards 2, Fedotenko, Taylor Greig, Handzus
6 May 20 18:18, OT at Flyers 5, Lightning 4 Fedotenko 2, Lecavalier 2 Gagne 2, Primeau 2, Kapanen
7 May 22 at Lightning 2, Flyers 1 Fedotenko, Modin Johnsson
Lightning win series 4-3

[edit] Western Conference Finals

[edit] (6) Calgary Flames defeat (2) San Jose Sharks, 4 games to 2

The Western Conference Finals pitted the second-seeded Sharks against the sixth-seeded Flames, who had upset both Vancouver and Detroit en route to this series against San Jose.

Game 1, at San Jose's HP Pavilion, saw the Flames win the game 18:43 into overtime, 4-3, on a Steve Montador goal, his first of the postseason. In Game 2, Calgary came charging out of the gate, scoring two first-period goals and never looking back in a 4-1 victory. The Sharks were in trouble: they were down in the series, 2-0, headed to Calgary.

Game 3, at the Pengrowth Saddledome in Calgary, saw San Jose come through when they needed to: goalie Evgeni Nabokov posted a 34-save shutout and Alex Korolyuk scored two goals in a 3-0 Sharks win. Game 4 saw the unusual trend of the away team playing well in the series, as San Jose tied the series, 2-2, with a 4-2 victory. San Jose's attack came quick and hard with four second-period goals. After San Jose's fourth goal, Calgary goalie Miikka Kiprusoff was pulled in favor of Roman Turek, who went 3-for-3 between the pipes.

The series went to San Jose for Game 5, and the road team continued to play well, with Kiprusoff bouncing back from his Game 4 shelling, getting help from his defense as well, as he stopped all 19 shots he faced in a 3-0 Flames win that pushed San Jose to the brink. The series returned to Calgary for Game 6, and for the first time all series, the home team won, a 3-1 Calgary victory that propelled the underdog Flames into the Stanley Cup Finals.

Game-by-Game Score SJ goals CGY goals
1 May 9 18:43, OT Flames 4, at Sharks 3 Harvey, Korolyuk, Ricci Conroy 2, Montador, Oliwa
2 May 11 Flames 4, at Sharks 1 McCauley Donovan, Iginla,
Nieminen, Nilson
3 May 13 Sharks 3, at Flames 0 Korolyuk 2, Damphousse none (Nabokov shutout)
4 May 16 Sharks 4, at Flames 2 Cheechoo, Damphousse,
Marleau, Rathje		 Iginla, Simon
5 May 17 Flames 3, at Sharks 0 none (Kiprusoff shutout) Conroy, Iginla, Nilson
6 May 19 at Flames 3, Sharks 1 McCauley Gelinas, Iginla, Regehr
Flames win series 4-2

[edit] Stanley Cup Finals

[edit] (E1) Tampa Bay Lightning defeat (W6) Calgary Flames, 4 games to 3

The 2004 Stanley Cup Finals pitted the team with the second-most points, the Tampa Bay Lightning, against a team that barely made the playoffs, three points from the bottom of the playoff qualifiers, the Calgary Flames.

Tampa Bay had cruised through the first two rounds against the New York Islanders and Montreal Canadiens before running into stiff competition from the Philadelphia Flyers, who they nevertheless defeated in seven games. Calgary had beaten the Western Conference's top three seeded teams, the Vancouver Canucks, Detroit Red Wings, and the San Jose Sharks, in that order.

Game 1, at St. Pete Times Forum, saw the Flames win the game, 4-1. Calgary only got 19 shots off against the Lightning defense, but more than one-fifth found the net. Martin Gelinas got Calgary on the board early, and they extended the lead to 3-0 in the second period on goals by Jarome Iginla, his 11th of the postseason, and Stephane Yelle. Chris Simon added the fourth and final Calgary goal after Tampa Bay's Martin St. Louis scored the lone Lightning goal.

Game 2 saw the same final score, but this time, it was Tampa Bay winning a clutch game to tie the series, 1-1, headed to Calgary. Ruslan Fedotenko's 10th goal of the postseason got the Lightning on the board first, and Tampa Bay used three third-period goals, coming from Brad Richards, Dan Boyle, and St. Louis, respectively, to blast the game open. The lone Calgary goal was scored by Ville Nieminen.

The series shifted to the Pengrowth Saddledome in Calgary, where Flames goalie Miikka Kiprusoff and the Calgary defense completely stonewalled the Tampa Bay attack, which only took 21 shots in a 3-0 Flames victory, and Calgary was halfway home. Simon scored the first Calgary goal in the second period, and Shean Donovan and Iginla added goals to ice the game.

With a chance to take a commanding 3-1 series lead, Calgary was shut out by Lightning goalie Nikolai Khabibulin, who recorded his fifth shutout of the postseason, a 29-save shutout, in a 1-0 Tampa Bay victory, with the game's lone goal being scored by Richards three minutes into the game.

The series returned to Tampa Bay tied, 2-2, for a critical Game 5, and Calgary pulled off a 3-2 overtime victory to move within one win away from the Stanley Cup. After Gelinas and St. Louis traded goals in the first period, Iginla scored for Calgary late in the second period. However, Fredrik Modin tied the game for the Lightning 37 seconds into the third period. The 2-2 score held until after 14:40 had gone by in overtime, when Oleg Saprykin's first goal since the first round won the game for the Flames.

Back to Calgary for Game 6, each team scored two second-period goals, with Richards scoring two for the Lightning and Chris Clark and Marcus Nilson for the Flames, respectively. In the third period, there was a dispute over a Martin Gelinas shot that appeared to have gone in. A review from one unorthodox camera angle showed the puck would appear to have crossed the goal line before Khabibulin's pad dragged it out, though another camera did show the puck had been knocked several inches above the goal line in front of Khabibulin's pad. Although it never was reviewed, it was officially inconclusive. The game entered overtime, and the tension in the Pengrowth Saddledome, the Calgary area, and the Tampa Bay area was high: if the Flames scored, they would win the Stanley Cup. 20 minutes went by, and no winner was declared, and the game remained tied, 2-2. However, 33 seconds into double overtime, St. Louis put in the game-winner for the Lightning to force a winner-take-all Game 7 in Tampa Bay.

The tension that struck in Game 6 was still in place for Game 7: there would be no tomorrow; the loser would go home. Fedotenko scored goals for Tampa Bay late in the first period and late in the second period for a 2-0 lead. After Conroy scored to narrow the deficit to 2-1, Calgary barraged Khabibulin after taking only seven shots in the first two periods. After the Conroy goal, Khabibulin stopped 16 Calgary shots. Tampa Bay won the game, 2-1, and the Stanley Cup.

Game-by-Game Score TB goals CGY goals
1 May 25 Flames 4, at Lightning 1 St. Louis Gelinas, Iginla, Simon, Yelle
2 May 27 at Lightning 4, Flames 1 Boyle, Fedotenko,
Richards, St. Louis		 Nieminen
3 May 29 at Flames 3, Lightning 0 none (Kiprusoff shutout) Donovan, Iginla, Simon
4 May 31 Lightning 1, at Flames 0 Richards none (Khabibulin shutout)
5 June 3 14:48, OT Flames 3, at Lightning 2 Modin, St. Louis Gelinas, Iginla, Saprykin
6 June 5 0:33, 2OT Lightning 3, at Flames 2 Richards 2, St. Louis Clark, Nilson
7 June 7 at Lightning 2, Flames 1 Fedotenko 2 Conroy
Lightning win series 4-3

[edit] See also

Preceded by
2003 Stanley Cup Playoffs		 Stanley Cup Champions Succeeded by
2006 Stanley Cup Playoffs
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